Manual propelling and guiding means



Dec. 14, 1954 T. 0. WHIDDEN MANUAL PROPELLING AND GUIDING MEANS Filed June 16. 1949 INVENTOR. 77D. WH/wm BY r I:

A TTOR/VE) United States Paten r MANUAL PROPELLING AN D GUIDING MEANS Theron D. Whidden, JacksonvilleQFla.

Application June 16, 1949, Serial No. 99,390

4Claims. .(Cl. 115-28) "This inventionrelates topropelling and guiding mechanisms for rowboats and the like andmore specifically. to manually operated mechanisms of this characterwhich are generally referred to as sneaker blades.

It is an object of this invention to-providenovel and improved means for guiding and propellinga boat. or small craft by manual lever action.

' It is another object of thisinvention to provide a boat propelling and guiding mechanism which-is operable when fastened to either'the side or the stern of-a rowboat and which can be operated from either the sitting or standing position.

lt is-a further object of this invention to provide-an easily adjustable device of the character described to operate at various water depths.

It is a still further object of thisinvention to provide asneaker blade equipment which makes possible a greater boat maneuverabilityand which requires only a small amount of manual exertion.

It is still another object of this invention to provide a sneaker blade device that'will operate through water which is infested with grassand lilyfpadsby providing a blade which is self-clearing and which can be readily operated to reverse the direction of the boat.

It is afeature'of-the sneakerblade'equipment of this invention that itmaybe'easily dismantled for shipping or for transportation inasmall package.

Still other features-of theinventionare: it has a'telescoping andswivel 'l verhandle'to'obtain additional power when needed and to provideless stroke when power is notrequired; the bladearrangement has no lost motion and any movement of the lever resultslin a thrust stroke in the water; the device, by being free of any cast metal parts, can be greatly mistreated without serious damage; the blade-bar may-be moved through 360 degrees,-allowing sharp turns-and reversals; and the device may beoperated with one'hand-or foot while in astanding position or with one hand-from a sitting-position.

Other objects and features of the invention, some of them more or less related to those already set forth, will be apparent from the following description and the claims.

In accordance with an illustrative embodiment of the invention, there is provided a sneaker blade equipment comprising a blade member which has a sharp inclined fore part to cut or pass over obstructions, a horizontal shaft secured to the upper fore portion of the blade, a vertical shaft detachably secured to the horizontal shaft, a bracket member secured to the rear or side of the boat and arranged to allow turning movement of the vertical shaft within it, a handle for turning the vertical shaft, and a pair of springs attached to the blade to give power to the blade stroke.

The invention will be more readily understood by referring to the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof,

in which:

2,696,797 Patented.w Dec. 14, 1954 be readily apparentto those zskilled in the 'artithat'this sneakerblade assembly can be attached to the side of a boatas well.

' Thea-sneaker blade "assembly 10 in tgener'al comprises a lower portion: 12,: an upper. "portion :13 including a handle 14, a'supporting structure 15, andzspring mechanism 16. Each of theseportions' has a 'plurality of parts.

i Theilower portion .12 comprises a blade 1-7, a I sleeve bearing 1.8,:a .zhorizontal "shaft 19 anda sleeve jointi20 .fixedly secured to'thisshaft. Thefore part-"Zl of the blade 17 is sharp and inclined about 45 degrees. The sleeve bearing '18 istwelded to the upper portion of:the edge21 permitting 'most'of the sharpedge 21 to'befree of obstructions. .Becausea-of the slope ofithe edge 21, .anyobstruction, such asugrassor lily pads, is inclinedto pass" under thelblade; instead. of hanging thereon, when the.blade;travels..through the water. Moreover, due to the fact :that;thesleeve bearing :18 is at the'top, itcan beraised entirely out:of the watergthus leaving only:a

sharp 'blade portion, which 'is three+fourths or more'of thertotal blade:area,:in-the water. Thehorizontal shaft 19 has a hent end portion .22 which is fastened-within the .sleeve:bearing 18 while its other end is attached to the sleevejoint-20. Bymeans oftthe sleeve joint, the lower portion 12 of the sneaker blade assembly 10 can be readily-attached to or detached from the upper porztion 13 of the assembly, thus makingpossible casein :shipment or. replacement; of parts.

that the verticalshaft 26,'which-has a bend'25 therein,

maybe securely, but removably, attached to the horizon- .tal-shaft1-9. -ln additionrto the vertical shaft 26, 'the upper portion-.13:of:theassembly 10 includesthe collar 23 already described, the handle14 and -the grip'27 thereon. The member -14-isatelescoping and swivelharidle andithem'ember '27-. canbe any suitable rubber 'or plastic grip therefor. lBymeans of the telescoping action of the handle 14, the leverage can be increased or decreased momentarily. Thisxis abig advanta'ge'=be'cause, =in reversing, the short leverage is advantageous, while in propelling through heavy grass or lily pads a long leverage is useful because it requires much less effort. The member 23 is a sleeve collar with set screw or thumb screw for raising the shaft 26 and handle 14 so that the assembly 10 can be operated from the standing position and also for raising and holding the lower portion 12 of the assembly nearly clear of the water when the boat is being operated by an outboard motor, for example, without having to take the equipment off the supporting structure 15. It can also be used for lowering the unit to the proper depth for sharp turns and for reversing.

The upper portion 13 of the sneaker blade assembly is supported by the supporting structure 15 which comprises sleeve bearings 28 and 29 attached by any suitable means, such as by welding, to a transom bracket 30 which is preferably fabricated by welding instead of by casting in order that it can withstand more mistreatment without danger of breaking. The bracket 30 is attached either to tlie side or stern of the boat 11 by means of turn screw 3 A bent rod 32 is fastened, as by welding, to the horizontal shaft 19 so that the middle of the rod 32 is attached to the shaft 19 and its two ends are bent away from this middle (see Fig. 3). A rubber bumper block 33 is slipped over each half of the rod 32 and the ends of this rod are drilled to provide fastening means for ends of springs 34 the other ends of which are fastened to a hole 35 drilled in the top part of blade 17. The rubber bumpers 33 prevent a metallic click when the spring tension has been expended on a power stroke. Moreover, they make possible the adjustment of rods 32. By bending these rods 32 (containing the bumpers 33) away from the blade 17, the maximum pitch is increased and the opposite eifect is produced by bending these rods towards the blade. By experimentation, the best operating pitch for the particular boat can be found and the adjustment made accordingly. Because of the dual springs, one operating against another, lost motion is prevented. Furthermore, these springs hold or retain the blade assembly 17 on the shaft 19 although a pin or screw 37 can be added for this purpose also. The pitch of the blade varies according to the elfort expended at the lever 14. The springs 34 can be raised clear of the water to prevent clogging with water moss or other obstructions of this general nature.

The vertical shaft 26 can be made in a length suitable for standing operation or in a length suitable for operation from a sitting position on the seat 36. Moving the handle 14 in an oscillating motion produces a movement of the blade 17 in the manner indicated by the arrows in Fig. 3. The springs 34 help to produce a power stroke.

On either a left or a right hand stroke and the blade is at maximum pitch or against one of the rubber bumpers 33 at the end of the stroke, the springs act to kick the blade 17 parallel to the bar and this kick or thrust is applied to drive the craft. Moreover, these springs produce the same efiect as a variable pitch propeller. A light craft, once under way, would not require maximum pitch or length of stroke to maintain its forward speed and since the blade pitch is decreased, less power or effort is required at the handle 14. The inclined blade 17, having the sleeve bearing 22 near its top, also gives more power for effort expended because the sharp section of the blade travels a greater are or segment of a circle than the blunt sleeve bearing 22 and the horizontal shaft 19.

The pin joint 38 in the sleeve 20 makes possible the novel feature of knee action for the bar and blade assembly 17 and 19. Any obstruction such as a log or root or the bottom in shallow water which might cause hanging of the device is taken care of by the pin or hinge joint 38 in sleeve 20 allowing the forward momentum of the boat to cause the inclined blade to ride up and over the obstruction and automatically return to operating position of its own weight. Another advantage of knee action is that the lower unit can be readily raised out of the water for examination or lubrication or can be tied up to the top of the shaft 26 while the motor is being operated or transported.

Obviously many changes are possible in the embodiment described without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is indicated in the claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Manual propelling and guiding mechanism for a rowboat and the like comprising a single blade member adapted to be submerged when in operation and having a sharp edge capable of cutting grass, lily pads and the like, the entire forward edge of said blade, including said sharp edge and a pivot post or bearing at the upper portion only thereof, being inclined downwardly at an angle to the vertical, a horizontal shaft having a portion inclined downwardly at an angle to the vertical to attach to said pivot post or hearing, a vertical shaft connected to the end of said horizontal shaft remote from said blade member, support mechanism adapted to be attached to said boat and in which said vertical shaft is turnable, a hinge in said horizontal shaft between the ends thereof and positioned so that said shaft and blade member can be swung upward through substantially 90 degrees to allow the blade member to be completely out of the water, without removing the vertical shaft from the support mechanism, for inspection and repair, and a handle member attached to said vertical shaft for producing turning movement of said blade member.

2. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in which said handle member is of the telescoping type for changing the leverage thereof.

3. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in further combination with spring means attached to said blade member and to said horizontal shaft for adding power to the strokes of the blade.

4. The combination of elements as in claim 1 in further combination with spring means attached to said blade member and to said horziontal shaft for adding power to the strokes of the blade, said spring means including springs and a bent rod the middle of which is attached to said horizontal shaft and the ends of which are connected by said springs to the upper rear portion of said blade member, said bent rod being equipped with rubber bumpers for contacting said blade member at the ends of its strokes.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,003,516 Sax Sept. 19, 1911 1,317,480 Buehner Sept. 30, 1919 1,324,397 Hobart Dec. 9, 1919 1,704,400 Michiels May 5, 1929 2,062,546 Wells Dec. 1, 1936 2,097,931 Martin Nov. 2, 1937 2,292,609 Buehler Aug. 11, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 12,509 Great Britain 1894 327,045 France Mar. 13, 1903 502,969 France Mar. 5, 1920 582,798 France Oct. 20, 1924 

